The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business

Associated Press film writers Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr’s favorite movies of the year span blockbusters, arthouse films and, yes, even Star Wars.

By Ma. Cristina C. Arayata / Philippines News Agency I used to think that one just needs to spend at least three months in culinary school to be called a chef. That changed when I chanced upon celebrity chef Rolando Laudico, better known as Chef Laudico, and learned I was wrong. “Being a chef is not for everyone,” he said during …

By Katherine Roth / The Associated Press Home sweet home. It seems so simple. 

By Luis Leoncio  The P3.002-trillion national appropriations for 2016, the last of the Aquino administration, which Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has described as a “legacy” budget, is nothing but an election budget loaded with lump-sum appropriations and pork, according to Social Watch Philippines (SWP). 

The economy will sustain its robust growth next year, despite forecasts of continued headwinds in global trade, and will remain a “bright spot” in Asia, Sergio R. Ortiz Luis Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport), said. 

By Riza Lozada  The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. (PSE) is confident of hurdling the regulatory barriers on its planned merger with fixed-income market operator Philippine Dealing System Corp. (PDS), which is crucial to the country’s goal of meeting the requirements of a cross-border trading platform linking Southeast Asian stock markets under the Associated of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic bloc. 

By Luis Leoncio The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) will petition the courts to compel regulator National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to reassign part of the right of conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) to the prized 700-megahertz (MHz) frequency allocation that telecommunication companies need to upgrade data services. 

By Luis Leoncio Water-service concessionaire Manila Water was recently recognized as one of the top corporate social responsibility (CSR) advocates in Asia by the Asia Corporate Excellence and Sustainability Awards (Aces), a regional award-giving body that values and recognizes services and achievements of national and international small-scale and large-scale businesses for their significant contributions in the communities and the world. 

By Riza Lozada Santa Lucia Land Inc. (SLI) has listed P3 billion worth of fixed-rate peso bonds with an option for over-subscription of up to P2 billion in the Philippines Dealing Exchange (PDEX) platform, the company reported to the bourse.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), in a recently concluded board meeting, granted additional entitlements to budget carrier Cebu Pacific (CEB) for international routes from Manila to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from various points in the Philippines to Taipei and Kaohshiung in Taiwan, and from Manila to key destinations in Russia.